UN Women has been closely following the political and economic response to COVID-19 and how it is impacting women and girls, and cooperating with partners around the globe in using data to drive gendered responses to the COVID-19 crisis. Immediate, mid- and long-term response and recovery efforts need to be based on understanding of the different experiences and consequences of this crisis on women and men, and gender analysis-based national recovery strategies and plans. However, gender data and analysis are not systematically produced and used.

In Turkey, UN Women commissioned a rapid gender assessment (RGA) to deliver a more accurate picture of the consequences of the COVID-19 crisis on women and men, to make their distinct and changing needs and priorities visible, and to inform gender-sensitive and effective decision-making and response. The assessment is based on a telephone-based survey among nationally representative sample of 1,500 men and women over the age of 15. The survey was carried out in the period April 18-25, corresponding to the peak week of the COVID-19 pandemic in Turkey in terms of daily average of incidence of deaths per week. It inquiries into issues of source of information regarding the outbreak, change of employment situation and household resources, division of labor in the household, health issues and access to basic services, and experiences of discrimination and domestic violence.